Green designs on supersonic flight: Supersonic airliners for the next century are already taking shape on the drawing board, but still no one knows how much damage they are likely to cause the environment

Aerospace manufacturers are pressing ahead with their plans to develop the next generation of supersonic jetliners despite renewed uncertainty about the environmental impact of exhaust emissions that could ground the high-speed aircraft.

Atmospheric scientists have discovered that the effects of the emissions on the stratosphere's ozone layer could be a much bigger problem than they expected. They now say that a reduction in the emission of nitrogen oxides, which is something that engine designers have been working towards on the basis of earlier research, is not enough to make supersonic airliners environmentally friendly. Nitrogen oxides are one of the main causes of ozone depletion.

Among the most comprehensive work being done is that by NASA under its High-Speed Research Program (HSRP), which began in 1990. The programme is designed to relieve the American aerospace industry of the cost of the basic research for developing a 'clean' supersonic airliner, including preliminary ...

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